Redemption network with transaction sequencer

ABSTRACT

A transaction sequencer that comprises a processor, a non-transitory memory, and an application stored in the non-transitory memory. The application receives a message comprising information about a first purchase item, wherein the message was created by a point-of-sale after a filtering step that assured that the first purchase item is associated with a master approved item list, searches a plurality of different approved product lists using the information about the first item, wherein the plurality of different approved product lists comprise a first approved product list and a second approved product list, creates a first transaction based on finding the first item in the first approved product list, transmits the first transaction to a first transaction processing system, receives a first response from the first transaction processing system, bundles the first response in a unified response, and transmits the unified response.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of, and claims priorityto, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/854,353 filed Apr. 1, 2013,which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.61/619,602 filed Apr. 3, 2012 and entitled “Redemption Network withTransaction Sequencer,” which is incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND

Point-of-sale (POS) terminals may be used as a processing station foridentifying products, determining a price of the products, accumulatinga total purchase price for the products, determining a sales tax on theproducts, receiving a tender of payment for the products, and optionallyconducting a redemption and/or payment electronic transaction via acommunication network. For example, the POS terminal may be a check-outstation in a grocery store. Products in a customer's shopping basket maybe read by a bar code scanner coupled to the POS terminal. The POSterminal may identify the prices of each of a plurality of purchaseitems. The purchase items may comprise apples, hamburger, bread,uncooked rice, a chocolate cake from a grocery bakery, a six-pack ofbeer, a bottle of fish oil capsules, a women's fashion magazine, and adigital music pre-paid card. The POS terminal may accumulate a list ofitems purchased, e.g., a list of universal product codes (UPCs), sum thepurchase prices, determine a sales tax for the purchase items, anddetermine a total price for the customer to pay.

The POS terminal may be configured to accept payment for the purchasesin a variety of different forms of tender. The purchaser may pay for thepurchases with cash. The purchaser may pay for the purchases with cash,a credit card, a debit card, a stored value card, food stamps, WICtender, other payment vehicles, or a combination thereof. When apurchaser pays for items with some payment vehicles, for example withfood stamps and/or with WIC tenders, the POS terminal may desirablydistinguish purchase items that may be paid for with these tenders fromother purchase items that may be prohibited for purchase with thesetenders. For example, it may be that according to locally applicablelaws or codes, uncooked rice may be purchased with food stamps and/orWIC tenders, while a women's fashion magazine may not be purchased withfood stamps and/or WIC tenders.

SUMMARY

In an embodiment, a transaction sequencer is disclosed. The transactionsequencer comprises a processor, a non-transitory memory, and anapplication stored in the non-transitory memory. When executed by theprocessor, the application receives a message comprising informationabout a first purchase item, wherein the message was created by apoint-of-sale after a filtering step that assured that the firstpurchase item is associated with a master approved item list, searches aplurality of different approved product lists using the informationabout the first item, wherein the plurality of different approvedproduct lists comprise a first approved product list and a secondapproved product list, creates a first transaction based on finding thefirst item in the first approved product list, transmits the firsttransaction to a first transaction processing system, receives a firstresponse from the first transaction processing system, bundles the firstresponse in a unified response, and transmits the unified response.

In an embodiment, an approved product list management system isdisclosed. The approved product list management system comprises aprocessor, a non-transitory memory, and an application stored in thenon-transitory memory. When executed by the processor, the applicationbuilds a first master approved product list that identifies the productsidentified in a plurality of approved product lists, transmits the firstmaster approved product list to a first point-of-sale terminal and to asecond point-of-sale terminal, builds a second master approved productlist based on a change in one of the approved product lists, andtransmits the second master approved product list to the firstpoint-of-sale terminal and to the second point-of-sale terminal.

In an embodiment, a method of payment transaction handling is disclosed.The method comprises receiving a first transaction message comprisingidentification of a first purchase item, wherein the first purchase itemis identified in a master approved product list propagated to aplurality of point-of-sale terminals, and searching a first approvedproduct list for the first purchase item, where the first approvedproduct list is associated with a first payment program identified inthe first transaction message and all the items in the first approvedproduct list are identified in the master approved product list. Whenthe first approved product list comprises the first purchase item, themethod further comprises completing a payment transaction for the firstpurchase item. The method further comprises receiving a secondtransaction message comprising identification of a second purchase item,wherein the second purchase item is identified in the master approvedproduct list and searching a second approved product list for the secondpurchase item, where the second approved product list is associated witha second payment program identified in the second transaction message,where all the items in the second approved product list are identifiedin the master approved product list, and where the first approvedproduct list is different from the second approved product list. Whenthe second approved product list comprises the second purchase item, themethod further comprises completing a payment transaction for the secondpurchase item.

These and other features will be more clearly understood from thefollowing detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure, referenceis now made to the following brief description, taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings and detailed description, wherein likereference numerals represent like parts.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a redemption processing system according toan embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a point-of-sale terminal according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3A is a message sequence diagram for a redemption process accordingto an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3B is a message sequence diagram of a portion of a redemptionprocess according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a method according to an embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method according to an embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a computer system according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It should be understood at the outset that although illustrativeimplementations of one or more embodiments are illustrated below, thedisclosed systems and methods may be implemented using any number oftechniques, whether currently known or not yet in existence. Thedisclosure should in no way be limited to the illustrativeimplementations, drawings, and techniques illustrated below, but may bemodified within the scope of the appended claims along with their fullscope of equivalents.

A redemption payment system comprising a transaction sequencer isdescribed herein. A POS terminal may apply a variety of different rulesto determine a purchase price, to receive payment tenders from thepurchaser, and to redeem these payment tenders. According to anembodiment, the POS terminal is configured with a master approvedproduct list that identifies all of the items that are listed on atleast one approved product list of one payment program. The POS terminalmay identify those purchase items in a customer's shopping basket thatare identified in the master approved product list and send a redemptiontransaction message to a redemption system for processing and receivingpayment for those identified items. Purchase items that are notassociated with any item in the master approved product list may be paidfor with cash or with some other payment tender by the customer. Theredemption transaction message identifies the approved items andidentifies one or more payment tenders. For example, the redemptiontransaction message may comprise one or more bank identification numbers(BINs), such as a first BIN associated with the customer's bank debitcard and a second BIN associated with a state issued women, infants, andchildren (WIC) tender debit card.

A transaction sequencer receives the redemption transaction message anddetermines what payment tenders will be used to pay for which purchaseitems. The transaction sequencer searches a plurality of approvedproduct lists (APLs) to determine which APLs identify each purchaseitem. When two or more APLs identify the same purchase item, thetransaction sequencer applies predefined rules to determine what accountor tender will be applied to redeem the subject purchase item. Forexample, if a state issued debit card is tendered that carries funds forunemployment benefits, food stamp tenders, and WIC tenders, and if apurchase item is on an unemployment benefit APL, on a food stamp APL,and on a WIC APL, the transaction sequencer may apply rules defined by aprogram manager or by an issuing state for how to arbitrate payment fromone of the unemployment benefits, food stamp tenders, and WIC tendersassociated with the state issued debit card.

The transaction sequencer may create a plurality of payment transactionmessages associated with the plurality of payment tenders associatedwith the single redemption transaction message received by thetransaction sequencer. The payment transaction messages may betransmitted to different payment transaction processing systems. Thepayment transaction processing systems may return a transaction responsemessage to the transaction sequencer. The transaction sequencer maystitch together or otherwise bundle a plurality of transaction responsesfrom the several payment transaction processing systems into a singleredemption response message and transmit this single redemption responsemessage to the POS terminal.

A list management system may maintain a plurality of APLs. For example,the list management system may maintain at least one flexible spendingaccount (FSA) APL, at least one unemployment benefits APL, at least onefood stamp APL, at least one WIC tender APL, at least one wellnessprogram benefits APL, other APLs, or combinations thereof. As one of theAPLs is changed, the list management system may receive an updatemessage from the authorized source of the subject APL, for example anupdate of the food stamp APL may be received from a US federalgovernment source. In response to receiving an APL update message, thelist management system may modify one or more APLs. The APL updatemessage may entail adding a new approved item, deleting a previouslyapproved item, or may involve some other modification of an approveditem. The list management system may push APL updates to the transactionsequencer, so that the APLs accessed by the transaction sequencer aremaintained current.

The list management system may create sub-lists based on the completeAPLs that may be suitable for use by individual retail collaborators.For example, a FSA sub-list may be created for a first retail storewhich is a sub-set of the full FSA APL that excludes products that thefirst retail store does not offer for sale. The list management systemmay determine a master approved product list based on the APLs and/orbased on the sub-list APLs. The master approved product list may bedetermined by creating a single entry for each item listed in any one ofthe APLs and/or any one of the sub-list APLs, and excluding any doubleentries. The list management system may push the master approved productlist—either a comprehensive master approved product list or a masterapproved product list built using sub-list APLs—to one or more POSterminals.

Turning now to FIG. 1, a system 100 is described. In an embodiment, thesystem 100 comprises a transaction sequencer 102, a first point-of-saleterminal 104, a second point-of-sale terminal 106, a third point-of-saleterminal 108, a network 110, a payment switch 112, a payment transactionprocessing system 114, a list management system 120, and a list datastore 122. In an embodiment, the transaction sequencer 102, the paymentswitch 112, the payment transaction processing system 114, the listmanagement system 120, and the list data store 122 may be considered toform at least part of a sub-system 101. It will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art that a variety of alternative configurations andimplementations of the system 100 are possible, and the presentdisclosure contemplates these alternative configurations andimplementations. The network 110 may comprise any combination of privateand public networks, for example a combination of the public Internetand one or more local area networks. It is understood that the network110 may promote a variety of different communication functionality,including, for example, virtual private network (VPN) tunneling andother data communication functionality. In some contexts the system 100may be referred to as a redemption network with a transaction sequencer.

The first point-of-sale terminal 104 may be an isolated terminal, forexample in a very small business. The second point-of-sale terminal 106may be one of a plurality of point-of-sale terminals in a firstenterprise 116, for example a grocery store. The third point-of-saleterminal 108 may be one of a plurality of point-of-sale terminals in asecond enterprise 118, for example a pharmacy. In an embodiment, thefirst enterprise 116 may be different from the second enterprise 118,and the items offered for sale by the first enterprise 116 may bedifferent from the items offered for sale by the second enterprise 118.To promote conciseness, the point-of-sale terminals 104, 106, 108 may bereferred to as first POS 104, second POS 106, and third POS 108. The POS104, 106, 108 may be an e-commerce site, an on-line business POS, avirtual POS, or a POS located in a brick-and-mortar building.

In an embodiment, the system 100 may be coupled to only one enterprise,for example to a chain of grocery stores. This embodiment may bepreferred by an enterprise that is concerned about the confidentialityof their transaction information. The enterprise may also feel that itmay be better able to request customized redemption functionality if itis the sole enterprise served by the system 100 rather than merely oneamong several enterprises serviced by the system 100. In an embodiment,an enterprise may be served by a dedicated transaction sequencer 102(e.g., that transaction sequencer serves only that enterprise) but mayreceive master approved product list updates from a list managementsystem 120 that serves a plurality of different enterprises.

The payment transaction processing system 114 may comprise a pluralityof separate payment transaction processing systems. For example, thesystem 100 may comprise a first payment transaction processing system114 a, a second payment transaction processing system 114 b, and a thirdpayment transaction processing system 114 c. The first paymenttransaction processing system 114 a may be associated with a privatedebit card, for example a commercial credit union/bank, and may beassociated with a first bank identification number (BIN). The secondpayment transaction processing system 114 b may be associated with astate issued debit card, for example a state issued debit card combiningfunds, accounts, and/or purses for monetary benefits such asunemployment benefits and/or income tax overpayment repayment, foodstamp benefits, WIC tenders, and others, and may be associated with asecond BIN. The third payment transaction processing system 114 c may beassociated with a third BIN. In an embodiment, one or more of thepayment transaction processing systems 114 may be combined in a computersystem with the transaction sequencer 102. In some contexts a paymenttransaction processing system 114 may be referred to as an ISOtransaction processing system.

While the payment transaction processing systems 114 are illustrated inFIG. 1 as being part of the sub-system 101, in an embodiment, one ormore of the payment transaction processing systems 114 may be separatefrom the sub-system 101, possibly associated with different programs.

In an embodiment, the system 100 comprises a payment switch 112.Redemption, payment, and/or transaction messages among the POS 104, 106,108, the transaction sequencer 102, and the payment transactionprocessing systems 114 may pass through the payment switch 112. Thiscommunication architecture may promote simplified communications, forexample simplified communications for the POS 104, 106, 108, bufferingthese nodes from communications architecture and/or routing changes. Inanother embodiment, however, the system 100 does not comprise a paymentswitch 112.

The list management system 120 maintains a plurality of approved productlists (APLs) 144 and builds a master approved product list 146 based onthe APLs 144. In an embodiment, a master list collator 140 may build themaster approved product list 146. In some contexts, the list managementsystem 120 may be referred to as an approved product list managementsystem. The APLs 144 may comprise a FSA APL, a food stamp APL, a WICAPL, an unemployment benefits APL, a wellness program APL. The APLs 144may comprise a cholesterol wellness program APL, a diabetes wellnessprogram APL, a high blood pressure wellness program APL, an obesitywellness program APL, and other health condition specific wellnessprogram APLs.

In an embodiment, the master APL 146 comprises a single entry for everyentry contained in at least one of the APLs 144. If, for example, afirst APL contains an entry for a product and a second APL contains anentry for the same product, the master APL 146 will contain a singleentry for the subject product. In some cases, however, the master APL146 may comprise some duplicate product entries, for example in the caseof an error or for some other reason. In an embodiment, the master listcollator 140 may exclude some items in the master APL 146 that arecontained in at least one of the APLs 144, for example when anenterprise does not offer the excluded item for purchase. In anembodiment, the master list collator 140 may build distinct master APLsfor each of a plurality of enterprises, excluding items from each masterAPL that are not sold by the subject enterprise. When the listmanagement system 120 receives a message identifying a change in one ofthe APLs 144, for example a message sent by a source of the subject APLsuch as a federal agency in charge of promulgating a food stamp APL, themaster list collator 140 may rebuild the master APL 144. The listmanagement system 120 may push a copy of the master APL 146 to POS 104,106, 108 periodically, on the event of a change in one of the APLs 144,or both periodically and on event of a change in an APL 144.

Turning now to FIG. 2, further details of the first POS 104 aredescribed. In an embodiment, the first POS 104 comprises a userinterface 170, an item scanner 172, a payment handler 174, and a copy ofthe master APL 176. The copy of the master APL 176, referred tohereinafter simply as master APL 176, is a copy of the master APL 146received from the list management system 120. It will be appreciatedthat in different embodiments the components 170, 172, 174, and 176 maybe implemented as either fewer components or more components. Forexample, in an embodiment, the functionality of two or more of thecomponents 170, 172, 174, and 176 may be combined in a single component.Likewise, in an embodiment, the functionality of at least one of thecomponents 170, 172, 174, and 176 may be provided by two or morecomponents.

The master APL 176 may occasionally be updated by the list managersystem 120. When a customer presents shopping basket items for purchaseat the first POS 104, the item scanner 172 scans the subject items andidentifies them. The payment handler 174 accumulates the scanned itemsin a list of items, determined a price and a tax associated with theitems. In an embodiment, the second POS 106 and the third POS 108 may besubstantially similar to the first POS 104.

In an embodiment, the POS 104 further comprises a tagged product list178. The tagged product list 178 may comprise all of the items offeredfor sale via the POS 104—for example a list of all retail items offeredfor sale in a grocery store where the POS 104 may be installed—wheresome of the items on the list may be tagged as being present on themaster APL 176 and other items on the list are not tagged and hence aredeemed to be not present on the master APL 176. The tagged product list178 may be created by the POS 104 based on the master list 176.Alternatively, the POS 104 may not comprise the master APL 176, and someother system may create the tagged product list 178 and push the taggedproduct list 178 to the POS 104. For example, in an embodiment, a servercomputer (not shown) in an enterprise associated with the POS 104 buildsthe tagged product list 178 based on the master APL 176 and pushes thetagged product list 178 to the POS 104.

Referring again to FIG. 1, when a customer presents a payment tender ora payment vehicle—for example food stamps, WIC tenders, a flexiblespending account (FSA) card, a state debit card that may provide accessto one or more of a food stamp account, a WIC tender account, anunemployment benefits account—the POS 104 may check that each item inthe customer shopping basket is identified in the master APL 176.Alternatively, the POS 104 may check each item in the customer shoppingbasket against the tagged product list 178 to see if the subject item istagged and hence identified in the master APL 176. The payment handler174 creates a redemption transaction message that lists those itemspresent in the master APL 176 or tagged in the tagged product list 178and that identifies the payment vehicle. The transaction message mayidentify each item that the POS 104, 106, 108 found in the master APL176 or tagged in the tagged product list 178. For each identified item,the transaction message may include a universal product code (UPC)identifying the item, a price of the item, a sales tax of the item, anda quantity of the item. The transaction message may also identify one ormore payment vehicles that have been presented by the customer fortendering payment for the items. The payment vehicles may be identifiedby a bank identification number (BIN) or by some other identification.The payment handler 174 then sends the redemption transaction message tothe transaction sequencer 102.

The POS 104, 106, 108 transmits the redemption transaction message tothe transaction sequencer 102, possibly routing through the paymentswitch 112. In an embodiment, the transaction sequencer 102 may comprisea payment account selector 130, a payment transaction creator 132, atransaction response bundler 134, a plurality of APLs 136, a paymentrules engine 137, and payment rules 138. It will be appreciated that, inan embodiment, the functionality of at least two of the components 130,132, 134, and 137 may combined in a single component. Likewise, in anembodiment, the functionality of one or more of the components 130, 132,134, and 137 may be provided by two or more components.

The payment account selector 130 searches the APLs 136 for each of theitems identified in the redemption transaction message and selects apayment account or a purse from which to pay for the subject item. Insome contexts, a payment account or a payment purse may be referred toas a payment entity. In an embodiment, the payment account selector 130may search only those APLs 136 associated with the payment vehicle orpayment vehicles identified in the redemption transaction message. Forexample, if an item is listed in an FSA APL but only a WIC tenderpayment vehicle is identified in the redemption transaction message, thepayment account selector 130 may search only a WIC APL to find thesubject item. When two APLs 136 list the same item identified in theredemption message, the payment account selector 130 may execute rulesdefined in the payment rules 138 to select from which account or purseto pay for the item. For example, the payment account selector 130 mayexecute the payment rules engine 137, and the payment rules engine 137may select from which account or purse to pay for the item based on therules defined in the payment rules 138

The identification of a purse or account from which to pay for the itemor items may be referred to in some contexts as dual level filtering,because the item is first filtered at the POS 104, 106, 108 (that is,the item is only included in the redemption transaction message in thefirst place if the POS determines that the item is on the master APL 176or is tagged in the tagged product list 178) and then secondly filteredby the transaction sequencer 102 against the APLs 136. The use of such adual level filtering may promote an enterprise or POS 104, 106, 108maintaining increased control and confidentiality of customer purchasingdata which may comprise sensitive and/or valuable business knowledgethat the enterprise does not wish to share with other businesses.

After determining a payment account or purse from which to pay for eachof the items identified in the redemption transaction message, thepayment account selector 130 passes item payment account informationassociated with the selected payment account or purse to the paymenttransaction creator 132. Based on the item payment account informationreceived from the payment account selector 130, the payment transactioncreator 132 builds one or more payment transaction messages. In anembodiment, the payment transaction messages are built in conformancewith the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 8583Financial Transaction Card Originated Messages—Interchange Messagespecification, but in other embodiments a different payment transactionmessage format may be used. A payment transaction message built inconformity to the ISO 8583 standard may be referred to as an ISO 8583transaction message. In some contexts, the term transaction may refer toboth a payment transaction message and a corresponding paymenttransaction response message.

The payment transaction creator 132 may bundle a plurality of items tobe paid from the same payment account or purse into a single paymenttransaction message. The payment transaction creator 132 transmits thepayment transaction messages to one or more payment transactionprocessing systems 114, possibly routing the payment transactionmessages via the payment switch 112. In some scenarios, two or morepayment transaction messages may be transmitted to one paymenttransaction processing system 114, for example when some purchase itemsidentified in one payment transaction message are to paid from a foodstamps purse and other purchase items identified in another paymenttransaction message are to be paid from a WIC purse and when the foodstamps purse and the WIC purse are managed by a single state operatedpayment transaction processing system 114.

Each payment transaction processing system 114 receiving a paymenttransaction message processes the message and returns a transactionresponse message indicating whether payment in full has been made,whether no payment has been made, or if a partial payment has been made.For example, if the cost of the items identified in the paymenttransaction message exceeds a funds balance in the subject purse, thepayment transaction processing system 114 may pay for some of the itemsuntil the purse is substantially emptied, and then deny payment on theremaining items. The transaction response message may identify whichitems have been paid for and which items have not been paid for by thesubject payment transaction processing system 114. The paymenttransaction processing systems 114 may return the transaction responsemessages to the payment switch 112, and the payment switch 112 maytransmit the transaction response messages to the transaction responsebundler 134.

The transaction response bundler 134 may combine or stitch togetherseveral transaction response messages associated with a singleredemption transmission message into a single redemption transmissionresponse message and transmit the single redemption transmissionresponse message to the POS 104, 106, 108. This single redemptiontransmission response message may be referred to as a bundled responseor as a unified response in some contexts. The redemption transmissionresponse message identifies which items have been paid for out of whichaccounts or purses and which items have not been paid. Items may not bepaid because they were not listed in an appropriate APL 136 (forexample, an item present in the master APL 176 may not be present in theAPL 136 associated with the payment vehicle identified in the redemptiontransmission message). Likewise, items may not be paid because a purseran short of funds. The POS 104, 106, 108 may respond to unpaid items ina variety of manners. The POS 104, 106, 108 may notify the customer, viaa check-out clerk, that specific items have not been paid with thepresented payment vehicle and request that additional payment tenders bepresented, either as cash payment or as a different payment card. Forexample, a customer may present an FSA debit card after first presentinga state issued food stamp/WIC/unemployment benefit card to pay for thoseitems that may be paid for with that payment vehicle. In this case, thePOS 104, 106, 108 may create another redemption transaction messageidentifying the unpaid items that are found in the master APL 176 andidentifying a different payment vehicle, and the above describedprocessing may be repeated.

Turning now to FIG. 3A, a message sequence is described. The POS 104builds and transmits a redemption transaction message 202 to the paymentswitch 112. The payment switch 112 forwards the redemption transactionmessage 204 to the payment account selector 130. The payment accountselector 130 searches the APLs 136 for the item or items identified inthe redemption transaction message 204, determines a payment account orpurse from which to pay for the item or items, and transmits thisinformation to the payment transaction creator 132 in an account paymentmessage 206.

The payment transaction creator 132 creates a payment transactionmessage 208 and transmits the message 208 to the payment switch 112. Thepayment switch 112 transmits a payment transmit message 210 to thesubject payment transaction processing system 114. The paymenttransaction processing system 114 processes the message 210, generates atransaction response message 212, and transmits the message 212 to thepayment switch 112. The payment switch 112 forwards the transactionresponse message 214 to the transaction response bundler 134. Thetransaction response bundler 134 creates a redemption transmissionresponse message 216 and transmits the message to the payment switch112. The payment switch 112 transmits a redemption transaction responsemessage 218 to the POS 104.

In an alternative scenario, the processing within the dotted box 230 mayproceed differently when a plurality of payment accounts or purses areidentified in the redemption transmission message 202, 204, as describednow with reference to FIG. 3B.

In some scenarios, the payment account selector 130 may identify aplurality of payment accounts or purses form which to pay for the itemsidentified in the redemption transaction message 202, 204. For example,the redemption transaction message 202, 204 may identify a plurality ofpayment vehicles, for example a FSA debit card that associates to a FSApurse and a state issued unemployment benefits card that associates toan unemployment benefits purse. Alternatively, the redemptiontransaction message 202, 204 may identify a state issued food stamps/WICtender card that associates to a food stamps purse and a WIC purse. Whenthe payment account selector 130 selects two or more payment accounts orpurses from which to pay for the items, the payment transaction creator132 creates a plurality of payment transaction messages 208, a differentmessage 208 for each different purse, that it transmits to the paymentswitch 112.

The payment switch 112 forwards the messages 210 to the several paymentprocessing systems 114 identified by the messages 208. Each of thepayment processing systems 114 returns a transaction response message212 to the payment switch 112. The payment switch transmits the severaltransaction response messages 214 to the transaction response bundler134. The transaction response bundler 134 bundles or stitches togetherthe several messages 214 into a single redemption transaction responsemessage 216 and transmits the message 216 to the payment switch 112which forwards the message to the POS 104.

Turning now to FIG. 4, a method 300 is described. At block 302, a firsttransaction message comprising identification of a first purchase itemis received, wherein the first purchase item is identified in a masterapproved product list propagated to a plurality of point-of-saleterminals. Alternatively, the first purchase item may be determined tobe present and tagged in a tagged product list propagated to thepoint-of-sale terminals. It is noted that when the first purchase itemis identified as tagged in the tagged product list 178 it can also besaid to be a member of the master APL 176, because that the taggedproduct list 178 may be said to be based on or derived from the masterAPL 176. For example, the first transaction message is created andtransmitted by the POS 104, 106, 108 to the transaction sequencer 102(possibly via the payment switch 112). In some scenarios, the firsttransaction message may identify a plurality of purchase items,including the first purchase item. The POS 104, 106, 108 may firstdetermine the subject purchase items are listed in the master APL 176before identifying these purchase items in the first transactionmessage.

At block 304, a first approved product list is searched for the firstpurchase item, where the first approved product list is associated witha first payment program identified in the first transaction message andall the items in the first approved product list are identified in themaster approved product list. For example, a food stamp APL 136 issearched for the first purchase item and any other purchase itemsidentified in the first transaction message. The first transactionmessage may identify a food stamp program as a payment source for thepurchase items identified in the first transaction message.

At block 306, when the first approved product list comprises the firstpurchase item, a payment transaction is completed for the first purchaseitem. For example, when the first purchase item is found in the foodstamp APL 136, complete a payment transaction for the first purchaseitem against a food stamp payment account or purse. For example, createand transmit an ISO 8583 transaction message to a food stamp programpayment transaction processing system 114.

At block 308, a second transaction message comprising identification ofa second purchase item is received, wherein the second purchase item isidentified in the master approved product list or is identified astagged in the tagged product list. For example, the POS 104, 106, 108searches the master APL 176 or the tagged product list 178 for thesecond purchase item, creates the second transaction message identifyingthe second purchase item and a payment account or purse, and transmitsthe second transaction message to the transaction sequencer 102.

At block 310, a second approved product list is searched for the secondpurchase item, where the second approved product list is associated witha second payment program identified in the second transaction message,where all the items in the second approved product list are identifiedin the master approved product list, and where the first approvedproduct list is different from the second approved product list. Forexample, the second transaction message identifies a WIC paymentaccount, and a WIC APL 136 is searched for the second purchase item. Atblock 312, when the second approved product list comprises the secondpurchase item, a payment transaction is completed for the secondpurchase item. For example, when the payment account selector 130 findsthe second purchase item listed in the WIC APL 136, a transaction forpayment for the second purchase item is completed with a WIC paymenttransaction processing system 114.

Turning now to FIG. 5, a method 320 is described. In an embodiment, themethod 320 may be consistent with some of the processing described abovewith reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 4. For example, the method 320 may bein part performed during the processing of block 304 and/or block 310 ofmethod 300 described above with reference to FIG. 4. At block 322, ifall of the APLs 136 have not been searched, processing proceeds to block324. At block 324 one of the yet unsearched APLs 136 is searched for thesubject item. At block 326, if the item is found in the subject APL 136,observance is taken of the membership of the item in the subject APL136, for example a note of this membership is taken. The processing thenproceeds back to block 322. At block 326, if the item is not found inthe subject APL 136, processing proceeds directly back to block 322.

At block 322, if all APLs 136 have been searched for the subject item,the processing proceeds to block 330. At block 330, if the subject itemis not noted to be a member of multiple APLs 136, the processingproceeds to block 332.

At block 332, a payment purse or payment account is selected, forexample one of the payment transaction processing systems 114 isselected. Because, under the scenario that flows to block 332, thesubject item is not a member of multiple APLs 136 it is presumed to be amember of one APL 136, and the payment purse or payment account isselected in view of this single APL 136. This may be referred to asselecting the payment purse or payment account by default because thereis only one logically possible payment purse or payment account that hasbeen identified. The item is presumed to be on at least one APL 136,because the POS 104, 106, 108 built the redemption transaction messagecontaining the subject item and sent this message to the transactionsequencer 102 after first determining that the item is a member of themaster APL 176 and/or is tagged in the tagged product list 178, andhence is a member of some one of the APLs 136. In an embodiment, themethod 320 may further include one or more processing steps to confirmthat the subject item is in fact a member of at least one APL 136 andwhen it is not on any APL 136 to generate an appropriate exception.

At block 330, if the subject item is noted to be a member of multipleAPLs 136, the processing proceeds to block 334. At block 334, thepayment rules engine 137 may be invoked to arbitrate from which of thepayment purses or payment accounts associated with the multiple APLs 136to pay for the subject item. The payment rules engine 137 may executerules logic based on predefined rules stored in the payment rules 138and select a payment purse or payment account and hence one of thepayment transaction processing systems 114 to which to send a paymenttransaction. It will be appreciated that a variety of different paymentrules may be defined.

A payment rule may define a sequence of priorities. For example, if theitem is found on a first most preferred APL, pay for the item from afirst purse associated with the first most preferred AP; else, if theitem is found on a second most preferred APL, pay for the item from asecond purse associated with the second most preferred APL; otherwise,pay for the item from a third purse. A payment rule may define apreferred ratio of payments between specific programs. For example, astate may define that the value of payments from a food stamp purse andthe value of payments from a state funded WIC maintain a ratio of about2:1, under the circumstance when the subject item is a member of both afood stamp APL 136 and a WIC APL 136. The rule may define a preferredratio of payment distribution among different programs that takes intoaccount profile information about the customer which may be included inthe redemption transaction message created by the POS 104, 106, 108, forexample a number of dependent children. The rule may define a ratio thatis dependent on a funds balance of a customer. The rule may define aratio that is dependent on a funds balance of the program itself, forexample a funds balance in a state food stamp program a funds balance ina state WIC program. These are some examples, and it is understood thatthe predefined rules may define yet other rules for selecting which ofmultiple payment purses may pay for items when the items are members ofmultiple APLs 136.

FIG. 6 illustrates a computer system 380 suitable for implementing oneor more aspects of embodiments disclosed herein. For example, one ormore of the transaction sequencer 102, the POS terminals 104, 106, 108,the payment switch 112, the payment transaction processing systems 114,and/or the list management system 120 described above with reference toFIG. 1 may be implemented in a form which is substantially similar tothe computer system 380 described below. The computer system 380includes a processor 382 (which may be referred to as a centralprocessor unit or CPU) that is in communication with memory devicesincluding secondary storage 384, read only memory (ROM) 386, randomaccess memory (RAM) 388, input/output (I/O) devices 390, and networkconnectivity devices 392. The processor 382 may be implemented as one ormore CPU chips.

It is understood that by programming and/or loading executableinstructions onto the computer system 380, at least one of the CPU 382,the RAM 388, and the ROM 386 are changed, transforming the computersystem 380 in part into a particular machine or apparatus having thenovel functionality taught by the present disclosure. It is fundamentalto the electrical engineering and software engineering arts thatfunctionality that can be implemented by loading executable softwareinto a computer can be converted to a hardware implementation by wellknown design rules. Decisions between implementing a concept in softwareversus hardware typically hinge on considerations of stability of thedesign and numbers of units to be produced rather than any issuesinvolved in translating from the software domain to the hardware domain.Generally, a design that is still subject to frequent change may bepreferred to be implemented in software, because re-spinning a hardwareimplementation is more expensive than re-spinning a software design.Generally, a design that is stable that will be produced in large volumemay be preferred to be implemented in hardware, for example in anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), because for largeproduction runs the hardware implementation may be less expensive thanthe software implementation. Often a design may be developed and testedin a software form and later transformed, by well known design rules, toan equivalent hardware implementation in an application specificintegrated circuit that hardwires the instructions of the software. Inthe same manner as a machine controlled by a new ASIC is a particularmachine or apparatus, likewise a computer that has been programmedand/or loaded with executable instructions may be viewed as a particularmachine or apparatus.

The secondary storage 384 is typically comprised of one or more diskdrives or tape drives and is used for non-volatile storage of data andas an over-flow data storage device if RAM 388 is not large enough tohold all working data. Secondary storage 384 may be used to storeprograms which are loaded into RAM 388 when such programs are selectedfor execution. The ROM 386 is used to store instructions and perhapsdata which are read during program execution. ROM 386 is a non-volatilememory device which typically has a small memory capacity relative tothe larger memory capacity of secondary storage 384. The RAM 388 is usedto store volatile data and perhaps to store instructions. Access to bothROM 386 and RAM 388 is typically faster than to secondary storage 384.The secondary storage 384, the RAM 388, and/or the ROM 386 may bereferred to in some contexts as computer readable storage media and/ornon-transitory computer readable media.

I/O devices 390 may include printers, video monitors, liquid crystaldisplays (LCDs), touch screen displays, keyboards, keypads, switches,dials, mice, track balls, voice recognizers, card readers, paper tapereaders, or other well-known input devices.

The network connectivity devices 392 may take the form of modems, modembanks, Ethernet cards, universal serial bus (USB) interface cards,serial interfaces, token ring cards, fiber distributed data interface(FDDI) cards, wireless local area network (WLAN) cards, radiotransceiver cards such as code division multiple access (CDMA), globalsystem for mobile communications (GSM), long-term evolution (LTE),worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), and/or otherair interface protocol radio transceiver cards, and other well-knownnetwork devices. These network connectivity devices 392 may enable theprocessor 382 to communicate with the Internet or one or more intranets.With such a network connection, it is contemplated that the processor382 might receive information from the network, or might outputinformation to the network in the course of performing theabove-described method steps. Such information, which is oftenrepresented as a sequence of instructions to be executed using processor382, may be received from and outputted to the network, for example, inthe form of a computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave.

Such information, which may include data or instructions to be executedusing processor 382 for example, may be received from and outputted tothe network, for example, in the form of a computer data baseband signalor signal embodied in a carrier wave. The baseband signal or signalembedded in the carrier wave, or other types of signals currently usedor hereafter developed, may be generated according to several methodswell known to one skilled in the art. The baseband signal and/or signalembedded in the carrier wave may be referred to in some contexts as atransitory signal.

The processor 382 executes instructions, codes, computer programs,scripts which it accesses from hard disk, floppy disk, optical disk(these various disk based systems may all be considered secondarystorage 384), ROM 386, RAM 388, or the network connectivity devices 392.While only one processor 382 is shown, multiple processors may bepresent. Thus, while instructions may be discussed as executed by aprocessor, the instructions may be executed simultaneously, serially, orotherwise executed by one or multiple processors. Instructions, codes,computer programs, scripts, and/or data that may be accessed from thesecondary storage 384, for example, hard drives, floppy disks, opticaldisks, and/or other device, the ROM 386, and/or the RAM 388 may bereferred to in some contexts as non-transitory instructions and/ornon-transitory information.

In an embodiment, the computer system 380 may comprise two or morecomputers in communication with each other that collaborate to perform atask. For example, but not by way of limitation, an application may bepartitioned in such a way as to permit concurrent and/or parallelprocessing of the instructions of the application. Alternatively, thedata processed by the application may be partitioned in such a way as topermit concurrent and/or parallel processing of different portions of adata set by the two or more computers. In an embodiment, virtualizationsoftware may be employed by the computer system 380 to provide thefunctionality of a number of servers that is not directly bound to thenumber of computers in the computer system 380. For example,virtualization software may provide twenty virtual servers on fourphysical computers. In an embodiment, the functionality disclosed abovemay be provided by executing the application and/or applications in acloud computing environment. Cloud computing may comprise providingcomputing services via a network connection using dynamically scalablecomputing resources. Cloud computing may be supported, at least in part,by virtualization software. A cloud computing environment may beestablished by an enterprise and/or may be hired on an as-needed basisfrom a third party provider. Some cloud computing environments maycomprise cloud computing resources owned and operated by the enterpriseas well as cloud computing resources hired and/or leased from a thirdparty provider.

In an embodiment, some or all of the functionality disclosed above maybe provided as a computer program product. The computer program productmay comprise one or more computer readable storage medium havingcomputer usable program code embodied therein to implement thefunctionality disclosed above. The computer program product may comprisedata structures, executable instructions, and other computer usableprogram code. The computer program product may be embodied in removablecomputer storage media and/or non-removable computer storage media. Theremovable computer readable storage medium may comprise, withoutlimitation, a paper tape, a magnetic tape, magnetic disk, an opticaldisk, a solid state memory chip, for example analog magnetic tape,compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM) disks, floppy disks, jump drives,digital cards, multimedia cards, and others. The computer programproduct may be suitable for loading, by the computer system 380, atleast portions of the contents of the computer program product to thesecondary storage 384, to the ROM 386, to the RAM 388, and/or to othernon-volatile memory and volatile memory of the computer system 380. Theprocessor 382 may process the executable instructions and/or datastructures in part by directly accessing the computer program product,for example by reading from a CD-ROM disk inserted into a disk driveperipheral of the computer system 380. Alternatively, the processor 382may process the executable instructions and/or data structures byremotely accessing the computer program product, for example bydownloading the executable instructions and/or data structures from aremote server through the network connectivity devices 392. The computerprogram product may comprise instructions that promote the loadingand/or copying of data, data structures, files, and/or executableinstructions to the secondary storage 384, to the ROM 386, to the RAM388, and/or to other non-volatile memory and volatile memory of thecomputer system 380.

In some contexts, the secondary storage 384, the ROM 386, and the RAM388 may be referred to as a non-transitory computer readable medium or acomputer readable storage media. A dynamic RAM embodiment of the RAM388, likewise, may be referred to as a non-transitory computer readablemedium in that while the dynamic RAM receives electrical power and isoperated in accordance with its design, for example during a period oftime during which the computer 380 is turned on and operational, thedynamic RAM stores information that is written to it. Similarly, theprocessor 382 may comprise an internal RAM, an internal ROM, a cachememory, and/or other internal non-transitory storage blocks, sections,or components that may be referred to in some contexts as non-transitorycomputer readable media or computer readable storage media.

The disclosed redemption payment system comprising a transactionsequencer may be further described by the following enumeratedembodiments:

1. A transaction sequencer, comprising:

a processor;

a non-transitory memory; and

an application stored in the non-transitory memory that, when executedby the processor

-   -   receives a payment transaction message comprising information        about a first purchase item, wherein the payment transaction        message was created by a point-of-sale (POS) after a filtering        step that assured that the first purchase item is associated        with a master approved item list,    -   searches a plurality of different approved product lists using        the information about the first purchase item, wherein the        plurality of different approved product lists comprise a first        approved product list and a second approved product list,    -   creates a first transaction based on finding the first purchase        item in the first approved product list,    -   transmits the first transaction to a first transaction        processing system,    -   receives a first response from the first transaction processing        system, bundles the first response in a unified response, and    -   transmits the unified response.        2. The transaction sequencer of 1, wherein the payment        transaction message further comprises information about a second        purchase item, wherein the payment transaction message was        created by the point-of-sale after a filtering step that assured        that the second purchase item is associated with the master        approved item list, wherein the application further:    -   creates a second transaction based on finding the second        purchase item in the second approved product list,    -   transmits the second transaction to a second transaction        processing system,    -   receives a second response to the second transaction processing        system,    -   bundles the second response in a unified response, and    -   transmits the unified response.        3. The transaction sequencer of 2, wherein the first transaction        processing system and the second transaction processing system        are the same transaction processing system.        4. The transaction sequencer of 1, wherein the payment        transaction message identifies a payment entity, wherein the        payment entity is associated with the first approved product        list and with the second approved product list.        5. The transaction sequencer of 4, wherein the first purchase        item is identified in both the first approved product list and        in the second approved product list, wherein the first        transaction requests payment from a first payment account        associated with the first approved product list based on        evaluating a rule defined by the payment entity.        6. The transaction sequencer of 1, wherein the first product        list comprises one of a food stamp approved product list, a        flexible spending account (FSA) approved product list, a        wellness program approved product list, or a women, infants, and        children (WIC) approved product list.        7. The transaction sequencer of 1, wherein the payment        transaction message is received from a point-of-sale terminal        and the unified response is sent to the point-of-sale terminal.        8. An approved product list management system, comprising:

a processor;

a non-transitory memory; and

an application stored in the non-transitory memory that, when executedby the processor,

-   -   builds a first master approved product list that identifies the        products identified in a plurality of approved product lists,    -   transmits the first master approved product list to a first        point-of-sale terminal and to a second point-of-sale terminal,    -   builds a second master approved product list based on a change        in one of the approved product lists, and    -   transmits the second master approved product list to the first        point-of-sale terminal and to the second point-of-sale terminal.        9. The approved product list management system of 8, wherein the        plurality of approved product lists comprise at least one of a        food stamp approved product list, a flexible spending account        (FSA) approved product list, a wellness program approved product        list, or a women, infants, and children (WIC) approved product        list.        10. The approved product list management system of 8, wherein        the first point-of-sale terminal is associated with a first        business, wherein the second point-of-sale terminal is        associated with a second business, and wherein the first        business is different from the second business.        11. The approved product list management system of 8, wherein        the application is designed to exclude duplicate products        entries from the master approved product lists.        12. The approved product list management system of 8, wherein        the application further transmits the change in the one of the        approved product list to a transaction sequencer, wherein the        transaction sequencer receives transaction requests from the        first and second point-of-sale terminals and transmits        transaction responses to the first and second point-of-sale        terminals.        13. A method of payment transaction handling, comprising:    -   receiving a first transaction message comprising identification        of a first purchase item, wherein the first purchase item is        identified in a master approved product list propagated to a        plurality of point-of-sale terminals;    -   searching a first approved product list for the first purchase        item, where the first approved product list is associated with a        first payment program identified in the first transaction        message and all the items in the first approved product list are        identified in the master approved product list;    -   when the first approved product list comprises the first        purchase item, completing a payment transaction for the first        purchase item;    -   receiving a second transaction message comprising identification        of a second purchase item, wherein the second purchase item is        identified in the master approved product list;    -   searching a second approved product list for the second purchase        item, where the second approved product list is associated with        a second payment program identified in the second transaction        message, where all the items in the second approved product list        are identified in the master approved product list, and where        the first approved product list is different from the second        approved product list; and    -   when the second approved product list comprises the second        purchase item, completing a payment transaction for the second        purchase item.        14. The method of payment transaction handling of 13, wherein        the first payment plan is identified by a bank identification        number (BIN) in the first transaction message.        15. The method of payment transaction handling of 13, wherein        the first transaction message comprises identification of a        third purchase item, wherein the third item is identified in the        master approved product list, further comprising:    -   searching a third approved product list for the third purchase        item, where the third approved product list is associated with        the first payment program identified in the first transaction        message and all the items in the third approved product list are        identified in the master approved product list; and    -   when the third approved product list comprises the third        purchase item, completing a payment transaction for the third        purchase item.        16. The method of payment transaction handling of 15, wherein        completing the payment transaction for the first purchase item        comprises creating a first ISO 8583 transaction and transmitting        the first ISO 8583 transaction to a first transaction processing        system and wherein completing the payment transaction for the        third purchase item comprises creating a second ISO 8583        transaction and transmitting the second ISO 8583 transaction to        a second transaction processing system.        17. The method of payment transaction handling of 16, wherein        the first transaction processing system is the same as the        second transaction processing system.        18. The method of payment transaction handling of 15, wherein        completing the payment transaction for the first purchase item        and completing the payment transaction for the third purchase        item comprising stitching together a first transaction response        associated with the payment transaction for the first purchase        item with a second transaction response associated with the        payment transaction for the third purchase item.        19. The method of payment transaction handling of 13, wherein        the first approved product list is one of a food stamp approved        product list, a flexible spending account (FSA) approved product        list, a wellness program approved product list, or a women,        infants, and children (WIC) approved product list.        20. The method of payment transaction handling of 13, wherein        the first transaction message comprises universal product code        (UPC) information, price information, quantity information about        the first purchase item.

While several embodiments have been provided in the present disclosure,it should be understood that the disclosed systems and methods may beembodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spiritor scope of the present disclosure. The present examples are to beconsidered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the intention is notto be limited to the details given herein. For example, the variouselements or components may be combined or integrated in another systemor certain features may be omitted or not implemented.

Also, techniques, systems, subsystems, and methods described andillustrated in the various embodiments as discrete or separate may becombined or integrated with other systems, modules, techniques, ormethods without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.Other items shown or discussed as directly coupled or communicating witheach other may be indirectly coupled or communicating through someinterface, device, or intermediate component, whether electrically,mechanically, or otherwise. Other examples of changes, substitutions,and alterations are ascertainable by one skilled in the art and could bemade without departing from the spirit and scope disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A transaction sequencing and approved productlist management system comprising: a plurality of third partypoint-of-sale terminals, wherein each of the plurality of third partypoint-of-sale terminals comprise a tagged product list, wherein thetagged product list comprises all available products for purchase viathe plurality of third party point-of-sale terminals; a transactionsequencer, the transaction sequencer comprising a central processorunit, a non-transitory memory, and an application stored in thenon-transitory memory that, when executed by the central processor unit:builds a first master approved product list that identifies all productsidentified in a plurality of approved product lists, transmits the firstmaster approved product list to a first point-of-sale terminal and to asecond point-of-sale terminal, wherein the first point-of-sale terminaland the second point-of-sale terminal are check-out clerk operated,builds a second master approved product list based on a change in oneapproved product list of the plurality of approved product lists,transmits the second master approved product list to the firstpoint-of-sale terminal and to the second point-of-sale terminal; andtransmits the change in the one of the approved product lists to thetransaction sequencer, wherein the transaction sequencer receivestransaction requests from the first and second point-of-sale terminalswhich have been filtered by the first and second point-of-sale terminalsto remove any tagged product list products which do not comprise theplurality of approved product lists, determines what payment tenderswill be used for which purchase items comprising the plurality ofapproved product lists, and transmits transaction responses to the firstand second point-of-sale terminals.
 2. The transaction sequencing andapproved product list management system of claim 1, wherein theplurality of approved product lists comprise at least one of a foodstamp approved product list, a flexible spending account (FSA) approvedproduct list, a wellness program approved product list, or a women,infants, and children (WIC) approved product list.
 3. The transactionsequencing and approved product list management system of claim 1,wherein the first point-of-sale terminal is associated with a firstbusiness, wherein the second point-of-sale terminal is associated with asecond business, and wherein the first business is different from thesecond business.
 4. The transaction sequencing and approved product listmanagement system of claim 1, wherein the application is designed toexclude duplicate products entries from the master approved productlists.
 5. The transaction sequencing and approved product listmanagement system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of third party ofterminals is from a plurality of merchants.